Warm, clean beaches, beautiful scenery, friendly people, and many outdoor activities, and a slow relaxing pace of life. Costa Rica is a great place to visit. Eco Tourism : Tourists do things outdoors and enjoy the ecology. Costa Rica has no army to support so it spends its money on education and the environment. It is like visiting Hawaii, but it is less developed, less expensive, and more wildlife.
In California, there are plenty of beaches, but the waters are cold. In Jaco, Costa Rica, the ocean waters are just as warm as they should be. You can go right in without getting used to it or talking yourself into it. You can do so even in December or at night and even without a wet suit.
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Your condo is located in Jaco, a small beach town which is the closest beach town to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. It is about a 75 min drive SW from San Jose via bus, van, taxi, or car. The main part of town is about 3 miles long. It has local restaurants, shops, grocery stores, spa, salons, banks, bars, casino, night clubs, gyms, and even American restaurants. It has stores to book tours for anything or to anywhere in Costa Rica. It has cars, bikes, surfboards, ATVs, and quads for rent. It is also easy to walk. The people are friendly, helpful, and many Speak English.
Link to US State Dept for Passport
Click HERE for information on baggage and prohibited items.
Costa Rica is located in Central America between Nicaragua and Panama. On the west is the North Pacific Ocean and on the east is the Caribbean Sea. It is not an island, despite what you saw in Jurassic Park!
Christopher Columbus landed in Costa Rica (Rich Coast). The money is therefore the colones (Spanish for Columbus.) 1 colones is not worth much vs. the dollar.
The language is Spanish, though many Ticos speak English fairly well, especially if they work in tourism.
Here are two links to help you learn the basics
Spanish Dictionary: Type in your Phrase and it will translate it for you
Costa Ricans (Ticos) are generally friendly and educated people. Most seem to like visitors from other countries and treat them well. There are, of course, exceptions, but on the whole, you can expect to be made welcome wherever you go.
Various airlines fly to San Jose, such as Continental¸ US Airways, and Delta.
There are usually non-stop 5 hour flights from Phoenix, AZ (PHX), Los Angeles, CA (LAX), and Houston, TX (HOU) to San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO). But, sometimes they are only once a week and sometimes not at all.
There are of course non-stop flights from most cities in the US: Atlanta(ATL) / Charlotte (CLT) / Chicago (ORD) / Dallas (DFW) / Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) / Houston (IAH) / Los Angeles (LAX) / Miami (MIA) / New York (JFK) / Orlando (MCO) / Phoenix (PHX)
Check the Following Sites for Price and Travel Dates;
USAirways Special — US Airways is now offering a No Payment for 6 months promotion on all flights to Costa Rica!!
Taca — Costa Rican Airlines. Usually cheaper but flights are limited to mainly LAX
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